PAL (Published and Listed) Policy
New Membership Category for SCBWI members
Background for Instituting PAL
During the semi-annual board meeting held after the August,
2008 Los Angeles SCBWI conference, President Steve Mooser,
Executive Secretary Lin Oliver, and the board discussed ways
to increase and improve services for the organization's professional,
published members. The decision was made to create a new tier
of membership to be called PAL, signifying "published
and listed."
What Is PAL?
PAL membership is limited to those who have been professionally
published and/or produced for children. The full and associate
membership categories still exist, but only those who have
been published or produced (or have a contract with) one of
the publishers and/or production companies on SCBWI's approved
list are eligible for PAL designation. This list excludes
vanity presses, subsidy presses, and "print on demand."
It includes all those publishers listed on our market surveys,
legitimate regional and small presses, foreign presses, widely
published magazines, and production companies that distribute
film and video to a broad children's audience.
Self-published books, print on demand, and vanity press books
do not qualify for PAL designation. However, SCBWI members
whose children's books have been published in this way qualify
as full SCBWI members, as do members published in other fields
(such as adult books). Unpublished or pre-published writers
and illustrators can be associate members and are offered
many services to help them also advance in their careers.
When Does PAL Come into Practice?
The PAL membership category comes into effect with new or
renewal membership applications (beginning in March, 2009).
What PAL Designation Means
PAL members are given extra privileges. These include, for
example, the right to display or sell their books at certain
SCBWI regional or international events, and the right to join
a speaking bureau or lists.
For SCBWI Canada East, this means that only PAL eligible
books may be displayed on the New Leaves page or sold at our
events. Only PAL members may be listed as available for school
visits on our website.
How to Appeal
If you feel you or your book have been placed in the wrong
tier, or that your publisher should be added to the PAL list,
you may apply to the Appeals Committee. This is made up of
SCBWI board members, who will study your publishing credits.
The committee's decision is final.
These are questions that the SCBWI Board members who serve
on the Appeals Committee will ask as they look at the books
put out by a small publisher whose status is uncertain:
- Has the publishing company been in existence and putting
out publishing lists of books and publishing catalogues
for more than one year? Are such catalogues accessible to
bookstores and the public, and to brick-and-mortar stores,
not just online?
- Does the company publish books by more than one author
and more than one family? Are such books available for the
committee to see?
- Is the distributor national, or at least regional? (Again,
it should be more than just online sales, such as Amazon.)
- Have at least two of these books by two different authors
been reviewed by a nationally recognized review journal
such as Booklist, Publishers Weekly, or
School Library Journal?
- Did the author or illustrator provide any funds to aid
in printing his or her book, either before or after publication?
Did they receive payment for the publication of their books?
(Authors and illustrators may need to provide copies of
their contracts. The payment amount may be blacked out,
but not the method of payment.)
If you have any questions concerning this new policy, please
contact SCBWI Canada East's Regional Advisor,
. Note, however, that appeals must be directed to the SCBWI
main office in Los Angeles, Calif. Local chapters are not
authorized to make these decisions.
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